Dmitri Shostakovich’s (1906-75) satirical opera The Nose was composed during 1927/8 and premiered at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad in 1930. The music, with echoes of popular music, folk song and strident atonality, perfectly complemented Gogol’s story and was roundly dismissed by the critics. It then lay forgotten until 1974 when it was discovered in the vaults of the Bolshoy by the conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky.

The Moscow Chamber Opera Theatre, thrilled at the discovery, called in the ailing Shostakovich to attend and comment on the rehearsals, which he did with glee (footage from these rehearsals is included in the bonus footage).

This production was filmed with the same forces in 1979.

Cast:
- Platon Kuzmich Kovalyov: Eduard Akimov
- The Nose: Alexander Lomonosov
- Ivan Yakovlevich, a barber: Valery Belykh
- Praskovia Osipovna, the barber’s wife: Nina Sasulova
- Local Policeman: Boris Tarkhov
- Ivan, Kovalyov’s footman: Boris Druzhinin
- Doctor: Ashot Sarkisov